Kinect SDK for Windows shown off, coming soon

At today's MIX conference Microsoft showed off the Kinect SDK for Windows, …

It has been in the cards for a while, but now it's been shown off for real: the Kinect SDK is coming to Windows. The beta will be available some time in the spring, with an eventual release later in the year. The SDK will give Windows developers access to the Kinect's array of sensors, and will make both low-level sensor data and high-level skeleton tracking available.

Developers have been interested in Kinect since it launched, with third-party drivers being developed just days after the device hit the market—a swift response that surprised even Microsoft. The company is keen to capitalize on this considerable interest, hence the SDK release. Initially the SDK will only offer noncommercial usage terms; commercial licensing is on the cards, but the company is not yet sure what the terms will be.

Exactly what the SDK will be used for is an open question—in a way, it's part of the fun. Kinect is a pretty versatile piece of kit, combining directional audio, cameras, and depth perception, and there's sure to be a lot of experimentation involved in producing effective software interfaces built on the technology. Some demos shown off at the MIX conference included a system to provide navigation cues to the blind and partially sighted, and perhaps less usefully, a Kinect-controlled recliner. The most impressive demonstration was a Kinect interface to the WorldWide Telescope.

WordWide Telescope combines data from a bunch of different telescopes to make pretty pictures of the visible universe

Looking into the future, Microsoft envisages Kinect-like technology being available more widely, perhaps even built into monitors or laptops, along with modifications to allow users to be closer to the sensors. Kinect is just the first step towards a world of more natural user interfaces.